Washington Update - 01/09/2009

January 9, 2009


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Builders March on Capitol Hill to 'Fix Housing First'
Less than 24 hours after members of the 111th Congress were sworn into office, NAHB launched an all-out effort to make housing a centerpiece of the massive economic stimulus package that lawmakers are expected to complete by mid-February. More than 80 builders and Executive Officers from across the country converged on Capitol Hill on Jan. 7. They conducted 95 meetings with the congressional leadership and key members of the banking and tax writing committees to convey the message that a housing stimulus is urgently needed and that restoring demand for housing is the fastest and most effective way of reviving the economy.

The key ingredients to the recovery plan call for Congress to support enhancements to the home buyer tax credit, to provide below-market interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages and to continue foreclosure prevention measures such as those advocated by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair.

Builders discuss Fix Housing First housing stimulus plan with House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). Photo by Herman Farrer.

Bolstering the visits to Capitol Hill, more than 20,000 telephone calls and e-mails in support of the housing stimulus plan were received by the Congress from members of NAHB and the Fix Housing First coalition. NAHB is leading the coalition, which consists of more than 600 organizations, home building companies and manufacturers who have joined together to push for housing stimulus that will stabilize the marketplace.

To learn more about the coalition, go to www.fixhousingfirst.com. See NAHB’s press release for more information on the builder visits to Capitol Hill or contact Molly Murray at 1-800-368-5242, ext. 8282.

Florida Builders Discuss AD&C Issues with Their Lawmakers
During the holidays, six members of the Florida congressional delegation – Reps. Ron Klein (D-Fla.), Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) – sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson expressing their constituents’ concerns over the reappraisal of residential real estate construction and development loans.

“Reappraisals of C&D loans have considerably reduced the value of their collateral, forcing borrowers to come up with large amounts of cash to restore the loan to value ratio of their loans,” the letter stated. “We are concerned that the current method banks are using to recapitalize may unfairly penalize C&D borrowers who are current on their loans and unable to come up with additional capital in such a short period of time. We believe that in some cases, the institution would be better off working with the borrower to extend the loan , rather than taking possession of the collateral and terminating the loan.”

Representatives of the Florida HBA, the BA of South Florida and the Northeast Florida Builders Association recently traveled to Washington to meet with their members on this issue and to express support to their lawmakers for urging regulators to exercise restraint and flexibility in dealing with builders who are trying to make their way through this economic downturn while continuing to meet their obligations on their existing loans. For more information, contact J.P. Delmore at 800-368-5242, ext. 8412. [return to top]

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